Liverpool to London train passengers are to get free on-board wifi for their journeys.

Virgin Trains will roll out the access on all its 56 Pendolino trains later this year.

A spokesman for the company said installation of the upgrade will begin in May 2018 as part of a new deal agreed with the government which will see the company run the West Coast trains franchise until March 2019.

That contract cost £7.5 million and will see a number of improvements made across the service including an investigation into places without mobile phone coverage on the network and upgrades to toilets, seats at stations and extra staff.

A spokesman said: “Our customers on the West Coast will see a significant improvement in on-board WiFi later this year.

“All 56 Pendolino trains will undergo a refit which will vastly improve the on-board equipment, and allow free WiFi to be extended to all Pendolino customers.

“Installation of the WiFi upgrade is planned to begin on the Pendolino fleet from May 2018, with the work expected to be completed by January 2019, when free WiFi will be extended to all Pendolino customers. More than 85% of our customers travel on Pendolinos.

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Managing Director of Virgin Trains on the West Coast Phil Whittingham said: “We have led the industry for more than two decades, and I’m delighted that we have secured a new contract to continue operating on the West Coast. The investment will see a big improvement in our on-board WiFi, and follows our industry-leading innovations such as automatic delay-repay and free films and TV on board via our app.

“I’m pleased that we’ll be able to offer almost all of our customers access to the improved WiFi for free. We know WiFi is a top priority for our customers and I’m sure they’ll welcome the upgrades to both speed and availability.”